Awesome History

Now that he’s schooled us on the history of heavy metal music, guitarist Andrea Boma Boccarusso is back with a medley of iconic rock riffs from 1965 to 2022. Crank up the volume to 11 on your headphones and see how many you can guess without looking.

A typical breakfast in America includes items like coffee, orange juice, and high-carb treats like toast, hash browns, donuts, and cereal. Just how did we end up starting our days with these deliciously unhealthy foods? Weird History Food digs into what led to their popularity.

After looking at the variety of fonts on his computer, vlogger and documentarian struthless wanted to know more about their origins. But as he started to pull at that thread, he learned so much more – about the history of written language, design, pop culture, and communication.

We love us some gummy bears. There’s something so perfect about their chewy texture, fruity flavors, and adorable form that makes them special. Mental Floss series Food History looks back at the origins and evolution of the tasty candy treat, which first took their bear-shaped form in the 1920s in Germany.

From his horns to his red suit to his pitchfork, we all have a pretty specific image in our minds of what The Devil looks like. In this TED-Ed video by educator and Episcopal priest Brian A. Pavlac, he delves into the origins of the ultimate evil dude and his various depictions over the years.

Stand next to a spinning jet engine, and you’re likely to experience an ear-splitting volume of about 140 to 150 decibels. But that’s nowhere near the loudest sound in recorded history. This short video from Great Big Story explains the insane 310-decibel sound that could be heard more than 3,000 miles away from its source.

Whether you played with Slinkies, Silly Putty, or Sea Monkeys when you were a kid, you’ll find some wonderful nostalgia in Steven Heller and Jim Heimann’s catalog of American toy advertising. The 528-page book features hundreds of vintage ads that sold dreams to kids and often served as a reflection of their time.

LEGO is the dominant player in the brick-building game. But they weren’t the first to make snap-together plastic toy bricks. Historian Phil Edwards looks back at Kiddicraft, a company that was making something similar 10 years before LEGO. Then LEGO solved a problem that gave them a major advantage.

Getty Images makes money by licensing images and videos – including some in the public domain. Filmmaker Richard Misek created this impactful documentary using public domain footage in chronological order. He then explains the origins of some of the clips and how companies can charge what should be free footage.

We’ve used the modern alphabet in English writing since the 16th Century. Language lover RobWords explores how every letter from A to Z got its start, the hidden meanings in each one, how they’ve changed over the years, and even where we got the word “alphabet” from. The whole U, V, W story is fascinating.

Starting with the Maschinenmensch in Metropolis, robots have been a staple of science-fiction movies for a century. Using a series of AI-generated art, Stillskates explores the origins and evolution of on-screen robots and how they started as dangerous and powerful characters and gradually became comedic and helpful.

Designer, writer, and engineer Marcin Wichary created this extensive visual history of keyboards and the people who use them. The two-volume set is packed with 1300 photos and numerous stories about the amazing mechanical device that changed the world in so many ways.

With its mix of stir-fried noodles, protein, peanuts, veggies, and zesty condiments, pad thai is one delicious dish. Mental Floss series Food History delves into the relatively short history of the popular dish. While it was touted as Thailand’s national dish, its ingredients and origins came from other countries.

Few drinks have the storied history of absinthe. Once considered a beverage for sophisticates, it would soon become the drink of degenerates and eventually be banned for its apparent dangers. Weird History Food delves into the green spirit’s unique properties and sets us straight on its many controversies.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when taking a flight on a commercial airliner was something to look forward to, with luxurious meals, comfortable seats, and a high level of service. This video from Phil Edwards looks back at the glamourous days of flying and why it went downhill for most passengers.

After teaching us all about the history of TV dinners, Weird History Food is back to explain how we got microwave ovens in our kitchens. It turns out that what started as an unrelated experiment by a defense radar engineer became one of the most ubiquitous and useful cooking inventions of all time.

It hasn’t been that long since people used landline telephones, tape players, and VCRs on an everyday basis. But like so many other devices, they’ve been replaced by smartphones or other technology. Rhetty for History looks at these and other inventions which were popular in the 20th century and are now obsolete.

Many of today’s popular toys are pretty different from those sold in the 1960s and 1970s. But in this video from Rhetty for History, you’ll see for as many things have changed, classics like NERF, Hot Wheels, and LEGO are still selling well today. And then there’s the Pet Rock.

Vintage pictures of boxers often show fighters standing in this silly “fisticuffs” stance. But that position served a purpose, as Primo – Boxing explains in this short video. Basically, the lower arm protected the torso since gloveless fighters took way more body blows and aimed for the head less frequently to prevent broken hands.

Frozen TV dinners and the microwaveable meals we can buy today have long been a convenient way to easily fix a full, hot meal. But who came up with these compartmentalized dinners, and when was the first TV dinner served? Weird History Food explores the origin story of this popular mealtime shortcut.

These days, a typical non-stop flight from New York City to London takes about seven hours. But when the Concorde was still operating, it could perform the feat in just three hours. Bright Sun Films looks back at the rise and fall of this iconic supersonic jet that never reached its true potential.

If you can believe it, there was a brief moment when people thought spaghetti grew on trees. Erin from Mental Floss takes a look at this famous hoax along with a handful of others that were so well executed that the public was convinced of its truth. That lady who gave birth to bunnies, woah.

With Halloween upon us, there’s no better time to bust out a box of Count Chocula or Boo Berry. It’s part of a complete breakfast! Dan Larson of Toy Galaxy looks back at the strange and occasionally controversial history of General Mills’ spooky and sugary Monster Cereals, including the elusive Yummy Mummy.